Joey Chestnut beats 4 soldiers in hot dog eating contest

EL PASO, Texas — There was no contest for competitive eating legend Joey “Jaws” Chestnut when he challenged four soldiers to a hot dog eating contest at a Texas Army base.

Chestnut broke from his usual routine and spent the Fourth of July Independence Day at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, at the “Pop Goes the Fort” event. This came after Chestnut announced he would not participate in Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest because of a sponsorship issue. Chestnut has won 16 of the 17 previous contests and holds the record at the event by eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Major League Eating, the professional competitive eating league, had initially banned Chestnut from the Coney Island competition after he signed a contract with Impossible Foods, a maker of plant-based meat substitutes. The league reversed that decision, but the damage was done. Chestnut said he would no longer participate in the event without an apology.

Fort Bliss officials invited Chestnut to the event after hearing about the gap in his schedule, and Chestnut accepted the invitation, saying he would take on the four best eaters on the base and eat more hot dogs than they combined could eat in five minutes.

Once the gauntlet was thrown down and the rules were set, all that was left was the food.

Chestnut easily outdid the four soldiers, devouring 57 hot dogs while they ate 49 in total.

According to the Associated Press, Chestnut thanked the crowd after his victory and recognized the military service of his father, grandfather and brother.

“I love you guys,” Chestnut said. “You pushed me so much, thank you.”

The event at Fort Bliss was sponsored by Impossible Foods. For every hot dog eaten, the company donated $1,000 to Operation Homefront, a charity that supports military families. In total, the contest raised $106,000.

Chestnut’s next big event will see him face off against one of his fiercest rivals, Takeru Kobayashi. The two will go head-to-head in a hot dog eating contest Netflix special called “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” on September 2nd.